Doing It On My Own
by StrangeTastes
Summary: Kid has always had an unorthodox way of doing things, but when he goes to New York City without any weapons in search of a Kishin egg, he could never have imagined what he would find there.


Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. Obviously.

A/N: This is based off of episode 15 of the anime, and I've tried to flesh out Kid's explanation of how the three of them met. I've incorporated all of the little scenes from his flashback, as well as added a plot for how he got there.

As I can't read past volume three of the manga, I'm not sure if any of this is actually explained later on. So, this is just my spin on how things went down. I hope you enjoy it!

Doing It On My Own

"In other news, a series of gruesome killings in New York City still has not ended, even as authorities say they are getting closer to finding the suspect. We'll now go to our reporter on the scene…"

The volume on the television was slowly turned down after each word, until silence filled the room. After only moments, it was broken by the young Shinigami who had been watching the broadcast as he looked up at his father.

"Father, I'd like to go to New York. I might be able to find the Kishin egg soul responsible for this if I have the chance." Kid said, though from the determination in his eyes, Lord Death wasn't entirely sure Kid would stop if he said no…

He decided to partially try, anyway.

"How do you expect to protect yourself if you don't have any weapons? I'd at least like to see you try one more time to select a weapon that we have available. If not, then you can't go to New York." Lord Death was feeling slightly pleased with himself. After all, he had at least given it a shot.

Kid wasn't buying it. "I'm a reaper, Father," he said with a disparaging look. "It will take a lot for anyone to even hurt me. However, if it will make you happy, I'll look through your choice of weapons, and as a compromise for that, I still go to New York City."

The elder Shinigami had to admit that for a thirteen-year-old, his son had a very good point. He sighed and turned to his mirror, dialing Spirit's number and asking him to bring the pictures again.

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"Ooh, how about this one? She's a scythe, just like me," Spirit said, holding up a picture of a lovely young lady with her arm in scythe-form, cutting a straw dummy.

"No."

"What about this one? Just look at the jugs—I mean gun she has!" he tried again, making sure he wasn't going to get a reaper chop for his slipup, and showing a picture of another cute woman whose arm was transformed into a fearsome-looking machine gun.

This time, a disdainful glare at Spirit accompanied the inevitable, flat, "No."

However, the Death Scythe wasn't about to give up now. He rifled through the photographs, listing each one. "This one's a mace, he's a samurai sword, there's a knife and rapier combo. She's a flamethrower, he's an axe, and this one's a trident. Any of them catch your eye?" Spirit asked after finishing the list. His hopeful expression faded as Kid held up his arms in an "X," once again dismissing all possible candidates.

"No." Kid shook his head. "I've already said I want to find and strengthen my own weapon. And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to pack for my trip to New York." He hopped off of his father's chair and exited the room.

Spirit was beside himself in frustration. "You mean he already knew he wasn't going to pick one again? What an irritating, impossible-"

"Reaper…CHOP!" The bonk to his head nearly knocked him clean out. "That's my son you're talking about. Although I do wish he would take my advice on this for once…" Lord Death said wistfully.

"Owie…"

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'_It's been two days and there's still no sign of the Kishin egg…Perhaps I should report to my father about this. Whoever it is, he's doing a very good job of hiding himself.'_

Kid wheeled Beelzebub over to a scratched, dirty window in a vacant alley. He had expected the trip to New York to be the most difficult and draining part of his self-assigned mission, but he hadn't expected the mess he would find in the more rundown and sketchy areas of the city. It was a nightmare, but one he was coping with by keeping himself overly busy.

He looked around quickly and felt for souls in the vicinity before he even thought about writing his father's number on the glass. Perhaps waiting until night had fallen would be a better idea, but there weren't many people around anyway. There were only three souls in total on the sidewalk, two heading north, and one walking in the opposite direction. Feeling fairly safe, he breathed on the glass and began to trace in the fog.

'_42-42-5—'_

_**Click**_

"What the hell are you doing?"

A cold voice followed the cold cocking of the gun as Kid felt steel pressed against the back of his head. Suddenly numb, he watched the numbers evaporate into thin air before answering, "Nothing."

"Nothing, huh? You should pick a better spot to do 'nothing' than our part of town, little rich punk." Kid was spun forcibly around, Beelzebub kicked to the side, and a young woman positioned the gun threateningly under his throat. "Seriously, you're practically begging to be robbed in that getup. Now, gimme all the money you've got on you."

"Yeah!" a second voice chimed in. "You don't stand a chance if you don't! Bleh! Bleh~!" From the sounds of it, the gun was sticking its tongue out at the misfortunate reaper and mocking him quite thoroughly. He looked down on it interestedly, sensing both attackers' souls' wavelengths.

"You've got quite an intriguing weapon there. Even though it seems you've been robbing people for quite some time, it shows no signs of becoming a Kishin…in fact, it still seems to have a sort of…innocence about it. Strange. Does this mean you don't feed your gun any souls?" he pried. Kid had seemingly forgotten the situation he was in, but he was quickly reminded when the gun was placed at his temple again.

"That's none of your business! Now just hand over anything of value and I won't kill you!" The gun-wielder growled.

A manic giggle erupted from the gun. "You tell him, big Sis! Kya-ha-ha! Nyah~!"

Now Kid was even more curious, fear cast away, since really, they couldn't hurt him much anyway. "Also, I'm sensing the capacity for you to become a weapon as well…that would make sense, seeing as how your pistol has admitted you two are sisters. And as for killing me, it's obvious from your weapon's wavelength that you haven't actually killed _anyone_. So I'd almost like to see you try to kill me," he finished smugly. "So what kind of weapon are you?"

The human growled. "God, do you _ever_ shut the hell up? Your speeches are so annoying!" Still holding the gun to Kid's neck, she began to frisk him, only managing to feel around the inside of his left pants pocket before he slapped her hand away.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't touch me," he warned, eyes narrowing for the first time in the encounter.

In response, she pressed the weapon harder against his jugular before trying for the other pocket. "If you won't give me your money, then I'll find it myself!" she said viciously.

"No, you won't. I don't carry money on me. That would just be foolish in a city like this." Kid watched the effect his words had on his attacker. Her eyes grew wide before returning to a look of absolute desperation and determination.

"You're lying. You have to have something on you. Cash…checks…jewelry. Something!" she cried out, moving for his pocket one last time.

His hand closed around her wrist, gripping painfully tight. "Stop. I'm telling the truth. I chose not to carry anything valuable with me on this trip around the city, so just leave now and I won't turn you in. You probably have a warrant anyway…" His other arm knocked the gun away from his throat, and he grabbed it as well, keeping it angled away from him. Still, curiosity prevented him from just walking away. "Why are you doing this…? And why are you so desperate?"

The woman tried to squirm from his grasp, saying bluntly, "Stop asking questions," but he didn't give up.

"But why? I'm genuinely curious…It doesn't make sense that you two would just be out on the street like this. Two weapons would be welcomed in many places…so why not go to any of them?" His eyes probed his attackers, so he saw the instant she became angry in retaliation.

"I said to stop asking me questions! I don't need your pity, I don't need anyone's help, and I definitely _do not need to hear you keep TALKING!" _she screamed, and with a sudden burst of wild strength, kicking his shin and breaking free. "SHUT UP!" Insane with rage, she pointed the pistol square at Kid's chest and pulled the trigger.

With a loud bang, a bright pink flash tore through the reaper, and his limp body slid down the wall, bent sickeningly in double when he reached the ground. The gun clattered to the pavement, where it transformed back into a stunned girl.

"Liz…we killed him…he was just a kid, like us…" Liz looked at her sister, shock written across her features both at what she had done and the complete one-eighty that her sister's mood had taken.

She fell to her knees on the ground. "Patty, you know I didn't mean to. We don't kill people. We've _never_ had to kill anyone to survive. That's not us! Damn it, you stupid punk! Why couldn't you have just left when you had the chance?" she screamed, her voice breaking on the last word.

Liz wasn't expecting Patty to hug her around the shoulders, so she jumped at the contact before relaxing. "Sis…? Can we…move him? It looks so horrible with his…body…like that…" Patty whispered brokenly. The older sibling nodded woodenly before taking her sister's hand and walking slowly over to the fallen teenager.

Patty grabbed his legs, and Liz knelt over to support his shoulders as they maneuvered him into lying on the cold concrete.

"So, Liz and Patty, huh?"

Both sisters screamed when the body shifted and spoke, Liz accidentally dropping her end and knocking Kid's breath out when his back hit the ground.

Once he regained the ability to speak and move, he ran his hand over the front of his jacket, noting the lack of holes or damage. "Fascinating~. It seems your pistol only damages something else with a soul…There's no harm done to my clothes at all. But that was still an impressively painful attack."

Liz was too flabbergasted to speak for the duration of Kid's latest speech, but she found her voice long enough to ask, "What the hell _are_ you?"

"I am a Shinigami, the son of Lord Death. It would take a lot more than that to kill me." He smirked slightly as he stood and dusted off his clothing. "Now then, since I answered your question, how about answering mine?"

For the first time of the night, true fear crossed Liz and Patty's expressions, and not just because of the death god standing in front of them. Sirens were quickly approaching their alley, and Liz knew the gunshot they had fired must have been reported. "No way," she yelled, grabbing Patty's hand again and running. "I hope I never see you again!" Both girls scaled the wall and disappeared into the quickly falling twilight.

Kid stayed for a few moments musing. '_What an interesting duo…I'm curious as to what weapon the other sister can become. For her to be a pistol like Patty would be almost too good to be true. But if I never find out, I may never be satisfied for the rest of my life…What to do…'_ His mind made up, Kid jumped back onto his skateboard and followed the retreating souls' signatures to their next destination.

By the time he got there, being careful not to be detected, he found the pair in an abandoned warehouse. However, it appeared he wasn't alone in his quest to find them. The two of them were standing in the crosshairs of about fourteen automatic weapons and the headlights of a car.

"You've been treading on our territory again, Thompson sisters, takin' things that don't belong to you. And for that, we're gonna have to shoot you!" one of them was saying.

Kid mentally groaned. '_These girls even have a New York gang after them? Just what is up with these two?'_

Patty was yet again shockingly different than his previous encounter. Her eyes glowed as she smiled manically. "Kya-ha-ha~! Just come and get us, you bastards! Liz, it's _my_ turn _this_ time!"

Kid felt his mouth pop into an "O" of delight as Liz transformed into a perfectly identical copy of the pistol he had been threatened with only moments before, and at that second he knew, '_They _must_ become my weapons!'_

He couldn't help himself. A cry of "Absolutely perfect!" echoed throughout the empty warehouse before Kid burst in on the gang members, because with the way things were going, Liz and Patty were going to be dead in a few minutes if he didn't do anything. Liz transformed back to watch the fight more easily, both demon guns gaping at the scene before them.

Kid was essentially a blur of moving arms and legs, kicking and punching his way through the entire gang. Since he had the element of surprise and easily dodged the few bullets that shot his way, in under a minute Kid was standing on top of a pile of unconscious mobsters, hissing something about not taking away his chance at perfect symmetry.

The twin pistols continued to stare, Patty with her hand above her eyes like she was looking at something from far away, and Liz with her hands defiantly on her hips. "We could've handled it, you know," she griped, ignoring his pleased and excited expression.

"Wo-o-ow! You even took out the _car_!" Patty said happily. "So cool!"

"Yes, because you two could certainly go up against a dozen Brooklyn mobsters and survive," Kid said to Liz sarcastically. "Anyway, I want you to become my weapons!"

…

"Huh?"

Liz was openly staring at Kid like he had completely lost his marbles, but he held out his hand anyway. "You two are absolutely perfect to become my weapons! Just think about it. There would be perfect balance, a wonderful double assault on the enemy!"

"Again: huh? First of all, we tried to rob you. Then we shot and nearly killed you. And now you're saying that, even though you just saved us from the MOB for crying out loud, you want to partner with us? You're out of your freaking mind, kid."

"No, I'm not!" he insisted. "I can tell from your souls that you're not evil. I know that you probably didn't deserve life on the streets. And, even though you two rely so much on each other, I can see that it isn't always enough…Please, I need this. I need you both."

Patty tugged on her sister's sleeve, drawing her away. "Hey, Liz…doesn't he seem like the desperate one now? He almost seems as needy as we are sometimes…And he did save us. Should we go with him?"

"I don't know, Patty. You know where relying on others has gotten us in the past. How do we know we can trust him?" Liz argued.

"I'm not sure. But, something seems different about him than the others. He's being honest. He really does want us to be his partners," Patty countered.

Kid could hear parts of the conversation, even though it was obvious they didn't want him eaves dropping, and decided to add to the bargain. "You could live at my house, off the streets, and even use part of my savings for whatever you'd like. I can promise you at least one hot meal a day, as well as any other food you want to eat for other meals. Just _please_. Be my weapons."

"Let's just see what it's like, alright Sis?" Patty begged along.

Liz sighed before turning around and pacing back towards the still-awaiting Shinigami, her sister close behind. "Here's how it's going down. We try life with you for a little bit, but if we don't like how things are going, we leave and you don't try to track us down. That work for you?"

Kid felt a huge grin split his face as Liz grabbed his hand, Patty cheering and taking both of their hands in hers. "Thank you. I promise that you won't regret this."

"We'd better not. Now let's get out of this dump."

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"Father, I'm sorry to say I couldn't find the Kishin egg. However, I did manage to find the perfect set of weapons, so you don't need to worry about me anymore." Kid motioned the twin guns forward so Lord Death could see them properly from his mirror. "Now, transform, please."

The siblings did as he asked, and he caught them with ease, striking a pose. Patty giggled loudly as Kid smiled happily, tossing them out again as they changed back. "So, now, we'll be on our way home tonight. See you in a few hours, Father."

"Alright, Kid. But, you are wrong. I'll still worry about you as long as you're not safely at home. It's the responsibility of a parent. Though, I am very proud of you. Congratulations on finding your first weapons! I can't wait to speak with them. Bye bye!" And with that, Kid's window went blank.

"So…I just realized. We've been calling you all these general names, but I don't even know what your name is," Liz mused.

"My name? I'm called Death the Kid, but if you want you can shorten it to Kid."

Patty laughed again. "Ki-i-d! Ki-i-d~! I like it! By the way, how are we getting to your house?" she asked curiously.

Kid simply smiled again. "I'll need the two of you as guns, and we'll take Beelzebub home," he said, calling it out. "Once we get there, there are a few rules you'll need to follow."

Liz protested loudly at the comment. "Rules? You never mentioned that! What kind of rules are we talking about here?"

"Oh, just general rules for keeping the house clean and organized. I'm sure you won't have a problem with them. It's all quite basic knowledge, after all." Kid caught both pistols as they transformed, hopping on his skateboard immediately after.

The older sister still wasn't happy with the answer. "Specifics, Kid. I need specifics!" she yelled.

"You'll find out when you get there. I promise it's nothing horrible, and it's easier for you to see and understand than have me try to explain it to you. Alright, then. We should make it home by one o'clock, and then we'll get you settled in after you sleep." With that, Kid ferried all three of them towards the beginning of their new life together.

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A/N: I'd love to hear your opinions on things, like what worked and what didn't. Did you like it, hate it? But, even if you don't have time to review, I'd still like to thank you so much for reading this! Thanks!


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